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Teaching Bioscience Enhancing Learning Series Edited by Stephen Maw, Jackie Wilson & Heather Sears Self- and Peer-Assessment Guidance on Practice in the Biosciences Paul Orsmond The Higher Education Centre for Academy Bioscience Teaching BioscienceEnhancing Learningis a series of guides intended to be an accessible introduction to good learning and teaching practice within the context of competing research and institutional pressures. The aim of each publication is to provide a persuasive overview of the pedagogic reasons for adopting a particular practice and support these reasons with sufficient practical guidance and information to turn ideas into reality. The guides are structured around a common format; Chapter 1 provides a general introduction to the topic, Chapter 2 advice on how to implement the topic and Chapter 3 more in-depth information on the topic and the opportunity to investigate it further. In addition, each guide contains a collection of bioscience case studies highlighting how others have introduced the topic into their teaching practice. It is intended that the guide will be useful to academics in their first year of lecturing, particularly those who are studying for Postgraduate Certificates in Learning & Teaching in Higher Education, as well as to those with many years of teaching experience. First published in Great Britain in 2004 by Centre for Bioscience, The Higher Education Academy, Leeds LS2 9JT. ISBN 0 9548751 0 9 Copyright of this Guide resides with The Higher Education Academy of which the Centre for Bioscience is part. The material in this Guide is subject to copyright protection and may be reproduced free of charge in any format or media without requiring specific permission, subject to it being reproduced accurately and not being used in a derogatory manner or in a misleading context. Where the material is being published or issued to others, the sources and copyright status should be acknowledged. This permission does not extend to any material in the Guide that is identified as being the copyright of a third party. Copyright over this material sits with the original author. Whilst every effort has been made to ensure that the information provided is accurate, it does not constitute legal or other professional advice. The Higher Education Academy does not accept any legal responsibility for any errors, omissions or misleading statements (caused by negligence or otherwise). The Higher Education Academy does not assume any legal liability or responsibility for the accuracy or completeness of any information contained in this Guide. 3 CONTENTS INTRODUCTION 4 CHAPTER 1 INVOLVING STUDENTS IN ASSESSMENT 6 CHAPTER 2 GETTING STARTED WITH SELF- AND PEER-ASSESSMENT 12 CHAPTER 3 GOING DEEPER 21 CLOSING THOUGHTS 26 BIOSCIENCE CASE STUDIES 27 CASE STUDY 1 THE EFFECT OF MARKING CRITERIA AND EXEMPLARS ON STUDENTS’ LEARNING DURING PEER- AND SELF-ASSESSMENT OF SCIENTIFIC POSTERS 28 CASE STUDY 2 ON-LINE CALIBRATED PEER-ASSESSMENT — STUDENT LEARNING BY MARKING ASSIGNMENTS 31 CASE STUDY 3 PEER-ASSESSMENT OF SCIENTIFIC POSTERS — THE LEAGUE FIXTURE APPROACH 33 CASE STUDY 4 PEER-ASSESSMENT OF GROUP WORK IN A LARGE CLASS — 35 DEVELOPMENT OF A STAFF AND STUDENT FRIENDLY SYSTEM CASE STUDY 5 PEER-ASSESSMENT OF PRACTICAL WRITE-UPS USING AN EXPLICIT MARKING SCHEDULE 37 CASE STUDY 6 WRITING AND REVIEWING AN ARTICLE FOR A SCIENTIFIC MAGAZINE — 41 A PEER/SELF-ASSESSMENT EXERCISE CASE STUDY 7 PEER-ASSESSED PROBLEM-BASED CASE STUDIES 43 REFERENCES 45 TEACHING BIOSCIENCEENHANCING LEARNING 4 INTRODUCTION This guide is for those bioscientists teaching in higher education who are interested in using self- and peer-assessment in their learning and teaching activities, but who may feel they have little understanding of how to go about doing so. Some of the reasons for choosing self- and peer-assessment as opposed to other assessment methods are outlined in Table 1 on page 5. This book is written to a specific format, made up of three chapters: Chapter 1 is an introductory chapter that discusses some concerns about the most common assessment practices within higher education today. Through this under- standing, we can proceed towards illustrating how self- and peer-assessment can be a positive instrument for change. In order to be used effectively, it is helpful to understand the theoretical learning framework which underpins these student-centred assessment practices. Chapter 1 concludes with a discussion on effective learning through self- and peer-assessment. This chapter is very much about providing a rationale for the need for change and provides a way in which meaningful change can be brought about. Chapter 2 considers in detail how you can get started with self- and peer-assessment. Specific issues related to the effective design, implementation and evaluation of self- and peer-assessment, such as the central role played by students engaging with marking criteria are discussed in detail. Here we take a deeper look at those requirements, from developing marking criteria to the development of a community of practice, providing practical suggestions in undertaking self- and peer-assessment, whilst illustrating some requirements for good practice. Chapter 3 reflects the world in which students are being prepared. This is a world which requires the achievement of complex learning outcomes in order to meet the demands of employment and engagement in lifelong learning. Such learning outcomes are part- icularly well served by the application of self- and peer-assessment. The Chapter then moves from learning environments that use self- and peer-assessment, such as problem- based and reflective learning, to consider the role of formative and summative assessment and finally to considering how students and tutors perceive each assessment source. The structure of the book is therefore to look at the rationale for using self- and peer- assessment, to outline effective application and finally to see how effective a learning tool both self- and peer-assessment can be. In order to illuminate the role of self- and peer-assessment in practice, this book also contains seven bioscience case studies. Expanded versions of these and other case studies, marking criteria, and video streams of peer-assessment in action, are available from the website supporting this guide (http://www.bioscience.heacademy.ac.uk/ TeachingGuides/). In addition, the chapters draw on a number of specific examples from published research of practice, each chosen because they illustrate a particular aspect of the assessment process well. Whilst some of these examples are from bioscience, a number are not, but in these cases the examples can be readily transferred into a biosciences setting. SELF- AND PEER-ASSESSMENTPAUL ORSMOND 5 TABLE 1. A COMPARISON BETWEEN SELF- AND PEER-ASSESSMENT AND OTHER ASSESSMENTS Self- and Peer-Assessment Other Assessments Student-centred. Students often excluded. Norm referenced assessment. Or if Clear transparent criteria. criteria used, these may be given to students without discussion. Students isolated from the assessment Student empowered. There is a strong and therefore from the learning sense of personal ownership. process. Likely to encourage a deep approach to Likely to foster a surface approach learning. to learning. Allows students to actively construct Does not provide the incentives to their learning. construct own learning. Encourages discussion between Little discussion, sometimes none. students and tutors. Feedback misunderstandings due to Formative feedback. lapse of time or loss of ongoing comm- unication between student and tutor. Opportunity to revise or review weak Results final, with little point in going areas of learning. back over boxes ‘ticked’. Results received too late in the method More trial and less error in student to revisit or be useful in learning learning. process. Little trial and a lot of error in learning. Prepares students for the lifelong Often end-point destination only ongoing journey of learning. learning. For peer-assessment often several One assessor and a moderator or at assessors. most two assessors. Provides good opportunities for Little formative assessment. formative assessment. Likely to increases student’s Limited or negative effect on confidence. confidence. Increased performance/learning quality – of the learning output. Often authentic learning tasks. Rarely authentic learning tasks. TEACHING BIOSCIENCEENHANCING LEARNING 6 I 1 INVOLVING STUDENTS IN ASSESSMENT A CONSIDERATION OF CURRENT ASSESSMENT PRACTICE IN HIGHER EDUCATION The reason why it is desirable and infinitely sensible to have students involved and central to the assessment process is well illustrated by Boud and Falchikov (1989), ‘teachers have limited access to the knowledge of their students and in many ways students have greater insights into their own achievements’. The fact that this is not normally recognised in higher education is a serious concern, as reflected by Boud (1995) ‘there is probably more bad practice and ignorance of significant issues in the area of assessment than in any other aspect of higher education. Assessment acts as a mechanism to control students that is far more pervasive and insidious than most staff would be prepared to acknowledge’. This is unfortunate, as assessment is a foundation of student achievement and therefore regarded as a measure of institutional success. Why, if assessment is so important to undergraduate learning experiences, should bad practice exist? There may be a number of reasons for a lack of student involvement. Increasingly in higher education, there is greater cross-disciplinary teaching taking place. Courses like forensic science involve tutors from different departments such as biology, chemistry and law, and each department may have their ‘own’ understanding of assessment within their own structure of assessment policies. Institutions may also be presenting tutors with too many assessment options without looking into or understanding them fully. In a recent publication, Knight (2001) presented fifty assessment techniques. For some, this diversity may be heaven sent, but for others it could be thoroughly overwhelming; and without guidance, many excellent tutors can be left not knowing where to begin. Because of this mix of practice, assessment processes in higher education generate a mixture of concerns, such as: Criteria concerns • ‘Norm’ referenced marking; grading students according to how they compare against each other as a class. Norm referencing may still be the ‘naturally’ preferred model of assessment by most markers, Rust et al.(2003). • Criteria referenced marking, where grading is expressed according to each student’s performance, may have criteria and individual weightings that are often unclear and not constructed with the involvement of students. Assessment deficiencies • Learners ill-informed about what they need to know in order to understand or do. Interestingly, Gabb (1981) reported that the only piece of assessment information given to a cohort of students preparing to undertake final year projects was the name of the assessor. In response to this limited information, students deduced and developed their own sets of assessment rules, by which they tried to work out how best to pass the assessment. • The development of a truly hidden and non-transparent curriculum, described by Sambell and McDowell (1998) as ‘the shadowy, ill-defined and amorphous nature of that which is implicit and embedded in educational experiences in contrast with formal statements about curricula and the surface features of educational interaction.’ SELF- AND PEER-ASSESSMENTPAUL ORSMOND 7 Tutor folklore (outcomes), devise a rational programme to attain them, set criteria of excellence by which work is • Community discussions between academics in assessed and assess their own work, then the a field developed through years of experience, ‘unilateral control and assessment of students by concerning assessing and teaching (Edwards staff means that the process of education is at odds and Knight, 1995). with the objective of that process’ (Heron, 1988). Feedback concerns A NEED FOR CHANGE IN ASSESSMENT PRACTICE • Feedback can be given too late to be of benefit. Sixteen years ago, Heron (1988) thought the time was • Feedback can be diminished in usefulness ripe for an educational change from the authoritarian because students do not understand it or model to one which is student inclusive. Almost ten perceive its importance (Chanock, 2000). years after Heron’s call for change, came the publication of Higher Education in the Learning Society. Traditionally, so-called ‘summative’ assess- The Dearing Report (1997), as it became known, ment, (for example, end of module examinations), has perhaps noting that little, or no change had occurred, been used to determine how much ‘learning’ has attempted to prime teaching staff in universities to taken place. Used here, summative refers to an end- make a professional commitment to teaching. Dearing point mark, which influences student progression and addressed as a priority the improvement of the may contribute towards their degree classification. student learning environments, recommended that Failing an assessment may mean students do not learning and teaching strategies should now focus on progress, yet passing does not always indicate the promotion of student learning and stressed that a meaningful learning, as demonstrated by these radical change to teaching was needed. student interview quotes from Brown et al. (1998); The impact of Dearing on assessment may be ‘you shallow learn for an exam but you don’t know the gauged by the comments of Brown and Glasner (2003), stuff. It’s poor learning which you quickly forget’, and who noted that the range of ways in which students ‘you think just let me remember this for the next hour are assessed is unfortunately extremely limited with and a half. Then you don’t care’. These students around 80 per cent of assessment being in the form of appear to see learning as an end product of assess- exams, essays or reports of some kind. This may only ment and view the learning quantitatively, which partly reflect what is assessed, consisting of a very means that to be a good learner is to know more. The limited range of student skills, knowledge and ability. student learning which higher education needs to Students appear to do the same old types of activities encourage is qualitative learning, where new material again and again. It may have been as a result of these can be interpreted and incorporated, so that under- same old activities that Boud (2000) was led to assert standing is progressively changed through an on- that ‘assessment practices in higher education going, updating process (Biggs, 1996). institutions tend not to equip students well for the Underpinning many existing assessment pro- process of effective learning in a learning society’. cesses is the issue of ownership and hence power. Boud’s comments shed further light on the impact of When referring to the goal of education, Rogers (2003) the Dearing report, as the use of the ‘learning society’ made the distinction between authoritarian or formed part of its title. Dearing’s view of the learning democratic philosophies. Heron (1992) distinguished society reflected a ‘vision’ of a society (individuals, the authority in education as being either benign, lumin- state, employers and providers of education and ous and truly educative, or punitive, indoctrinating training) committed to learning throughout life, more and intimidating. It is the latter which formed the as a process or journey of discovery, rather than a basis for his authoritarian model (so called because of ticked box outcome. Boud (2000) discussed a more the unilateral control of assessment by staff). For complex view of the learning society in which ‘those Heron (1988), power lay with those who make who are skilled and flexible learners will flourish, decisions about other people. Students are consider- others will languish’. Thus a need for change within ed rationally competent to grasp a major discipline, assessment is evident to encourage progressive but perversely are not considered competent to learning, as skilled and flexible learners are unlikely engage with the educational decision-making, where- products of Heron’s authoritarian model of by this grasp may be fully achieved. If, as Heron assessment. The way forward is to look for a model of believed, the objective of the process of education is student assessment which is inclusive, involving the emergence of a self-determining person, i.e. students and tutors working collaboratively. Self- and someone who can set their own learning objectives peer-assessments provide just that model. TEACHING BIOSCIENCEENHANCING LEARNING 8 CHAPTER 1 INVOLVING STUDENTS IN ASSESSMENT SELF- AND PEER-ASSESSMENT: A WAY TO IMPLEMENT CHANGE Figure 1. Autonomous learning Writing in the early 1950s, Rogers (2003) outlined the goals of democratic education, in assisting students to become individuals. He included such attributes as being ‘a critical learner, able to evaluate the contributions made by others and being able to self- Task Teacher initiate actions and be responsible for those actions’. Furthermore, he went on to say that, ‘we cannot teach The learner and another person directly; we can only facilitate their autonomous learning. A person learns significantly only those learning things which they perceive as being involved in the maintenance of, or enhancement of, the structure of self’. These are sentiments which underly self- and peer-assessment philosophy. The defining character- istic of self-assessment is the ‘involvement of Environment students in identifying standards and/or criteria to apply to their work and making judgements about the extent to which they have met these criteria and Source: Higgs (1988) standards’ (Boud, 1986). Peer-assessment has been defined (Topping et al., 2000) as ‘an arrangement for peers to consider the level, value, worth, quality or dependent on the assessment process. In the self- successfulness of the products or outcomes of determining student who will be self-assessing, the learning of others of similar status’. From these assessment will be included in the process of definitions it becomes apparent that self- and peer- learning, as well as work done on the content of the assessments are not methods of assessment but learning. Therefore assessing how learning takes sources of assessment that may be used within a place and considering how evidence is provided of framework of different methods (Brown et al.,1997). what has been learnt is fundamentally more At the heart of both of these assessment important than assessing what has been learnt or processes is the student. Brew (1995) commenting on memorized. The shift to self-determination and self- the conceptual shift in higher education from a focus assessment starts to make the process more on teaching, to a perspective in which student important than content (Heron, 1988). Some may learning is central, illustrates the importance of this consider that Heron demotes content too much, student centredness, ‘the essence of the learning believing, with some justification, that a balance perspective is that it considers all decisions about needs to be established between the process of teaching and assessment in the light of the impact or learning and the content of learning. However, the potential impact on student learning’. Both self- and stress on the process and the content in self- and peer-assessment appear to have an emphasis on peer-assessment highlights the need for effective developing student autonomy, which, while not an communication between students and tutors easy concept to define, does have ‘some of the concerning the use of appropriate tasks and activities. attributes required by anyone if they are to be effective This is well illustrated, for example, in the need for learners’. After all, being dependent on others tutor and student to discuss and agree assessment (teachers) and not being able to plan and manage criteria, which results in students having a greater your own journey, or process of lifelong learning will degree of ownership of each assessment they are not be effective preparation for learning and the world undertaking (Falchikov and Boud, 1989). While it is of employment (Boud, 1988). evident that greater ownership may also be related to The model shown in Figure 1 from Higgs (1988) a shift in power, a note of caution needs to be is of autonomous learning. It shows how the four expressed. Tan (2004) argues that while self- principal elements of learner, teacher, task and assessment provides students ‘with more autonomy environment interact together. How successful the to judge their own work, more is known about the interaction is, depends mainly on the extent to which students in terms of how they view themselves’. This the elements are consistent with each other and upon has implications for how power is manifested within certain specific assumptions, such as, that self- the assessment process. Therefore, it is vital for directed learning needs to be active and not passive. student empowerment to understand the ways in More importantly, the outcomes of learning are which power is exercised. SELF- AND PEER-ASSESSMENTPAUL ORSMOND 9 grades and admitted to getting into the mentality of Figure 2. Requirements for generating ‘what am I going to get out of this in terms of credit’. the Zone of Formative Learning When asked ‘How do you know what is expected of you?’, the majority suggested that they didn’t really know as ‘they never actually say what they are looking for’. Students also often talked of ‘guessing’. Assessment Students at Alverno used feedback construct- ively, to help them to plan their work and to understand how they were developing as learners. Explicit criteria and learning integrated with the assessment process allowed students, through self- Student Task assessment, to take control of their own learning. Before considering self- and peer-assessment in a little more detail, it would help to be familiar with some aspects of the learning process. Zone of Facilitator Formative Learning THEORETICAL FRAMEWORKS TO LEARNING Environment Falchikov (2001) observed that ‘too many educational initiatives appear to be devoid of theoretical under- pinning, seeming to be driven by expediency, economics or political agendas’. Perhaps educational With this increased ownership, it may be initiatives will go on being at least influenced by such possible to reconsider Figure 1 to explicitly include as factors. However, learning through self- and peer- assessment. In Figure 2, the environment provides the assessment can only be understood within a theo- overall background in which the learning occurs. The retical learning framework. There are two influential environment is formed from a number of things such theories of learning that we need consider. as, the learning and teaching beliefs of departments or faculties, as well as, the human and physical resource Piaget and learning issues. The environment influences in varying ways the Piaget believed that each child passed through a student, the facilitator, the assessment practice and series of stages of thinking which were qualitatively the assessment task(s). These four separate com- different from each other (Sutherland, 1992). A child ponents all overlap at a given focus, becoming one. It is actively constructs their knowledge of the world around here that students’ learning is shaped; this is the Zone them as a result of various encounters with the of Formative Learning. Assessment is, therefore, environment, and also, by, communicating with other inclusive in the learning process. children, as discussion can challenge existing Hinett (1995) in a study which compared schemes or concepts leading to a re-think of an assessment practice at a British University with that original point of view. In this way the child learns by a carried out at the Alverno College Milwaukee USA series of adjustments to their environment, which is reported how effectively this close integration can achieved through using two alternative mechanisms work at an institutional level. A major difference in the within the process — assimilation and accomm- approach to assessment was in the use of self- and odation — which are balanced through equilibration. peer-assessment. At Alverno; each student was act- In this way, new material being assimilated by the ively encouraged to self- and peer-assess. Attitudes learner can be modified against previous concepts, ranged from ‘it’s painful, but it works and I learn which are stored in the memory as learning more’ to ‘I like self-assessment because I can reflect progresses. These individual pieces of information are back and know I should study more in this area’. themselves up-dated by the mechanism of At the British University little value was given to accommodation and transformed into new material self- and peer-assessment, which meant students and a more complete understanding. Piaget’s views of lacked confidence and faith in their own judgements. learning are of particular importance to those of us in On self-assessment, some typical comments education in a number of rather significant ways. For students made were that ‘no-one takes it seriously’ example, they underpin the learning cycle proposed and ‘it is just a hassle’. Furthermore, students learnt by Kolb, which has prominence in higher education as in a prescriptive environment, being told ‘you will do a model to aid understanding the learning process. this’. They generally validated their work in terms of Kolb’s learning cycle has frequently been reinterpreted TEACHING BIOSCIENCEENHANCING LEARNING 10 CHAPTER 1 INVOLVING STUDENTS IN ASSESSMENT operate only when the child is interacting with other Figure 3. Structural dimensions underlying the people in his environment and in cooperation with his process of experiential learning and the resulting peers. Once these processes are fully internalised basic knowledge forms they become part of the child’s independent CONCRETEEXPERIENCE development achievement’. Therefore, while both Piaget and Vygotsky placed a very strong emphasis on activity as the basis for learning, Vygotsky emphasised communication and social interaction, Grasping via APPREHENSION where teachers (either adults or more experienced peers) retain varying degrees of influence over each N Accommodative Divergent R ATIO knowledge knowledge EFLE child’s learning activities. Wood et al., (1976) saw the NT CT intervention of a tutor as involving a kind of RIEPMXEE Tvriaa nEsXfToErmNSaItOioNn Tvriaa nINsfToErmNTaItOioNn VIRVEESOB ‘ssoclavfef oald ipnrgo’b plermoc eosrs athcahtie evnea ba legso aal cwhihldic hor wnoouvilcde btoe EVITCA Ckonnovwelregdegnet Aksnsoimwlieladtgivee NOITA beyondT hhies tohre hoerre tuicnaals suinsdteedr peifnfnoirntsg.s of the work of Piaget and Vygotsky are recognisably used in higher Grasping via COMPREHENSION education today with regards to self- and peer-assess- ment. Peer-assessment is grounded in philosophies of active learning, and may be seen as being a ABSTRACTCONCEPTUALISATION manifestation of social construction, because it Source: Kolb (1984) involves the joint construction of knowledge through discourse (Falchikov and Goldfinch, 2000). Falchikov (2001) draws our attention to both the work of Piaget and is often presented in a very simplified form. In and Vygotsky with respect to peer tutoring, and Figure 3, the unabridged learning cycle (Kolb, 1984), emphasises the role of self- and peer-assessment in with its strong reference to Piaget’s work is peer tutoring. One of the arguments used by Falchikov illustrated. Looking at the cycle, we can see it (2003) to illustrate that self- and peer-assessment represents a very personal cycle of learning, self- are for educational and not just training purposes is contained from outside social and professional that Piagetian theory stresses the importance of influences. The learner is very reliant on their own practical concrete experiences for cognitive develop- perceptions of their learning experience. ment. The role of experience, with social and cultural influences in learning, is very relevant to self- assessment (Brew 1995). MacDonald (2004) Vygotsky and learning discussed the practical implications of implementing Like Piaget, Vygotsky (1978) believed that children online pedagogies and stressed the communicative constructed their own learning. Vygotsky was aware potential of e-learning employing a social construct- that children, often unable to perform tasks or solve ivist approach. It has already been seen how Piagetian problems alone often succeeded when an adult helped thinking is compatible with Kolb’s learning cycle; but them. Piaget took a dim view of success obtained in Kolb (1984) also appears to draw on a Vygotsky social this way, claiming that it involved the teaching and constructivism. This, a less discussed aspect of the learning of procedures and not the development of fully Kolb learning cycle, is of immense importance in integrated learning and understanding. For Piaget, relation to self- and peer-assessment. genuine intellectual competence was a manifestation of a child’s largely unassisted activities (Wood, 1988), whereas Vygotsky saw intervention as important. ‘The APPROACHES TO LEARNING difference between twelve and eight, or between nine and eight is what we call the Zone of Proximal Deep and surface approaches Development (ZPD). It is the distance between the A number of advocates of self-assessment relate actual developmental level as determined by approaches to learning as so-called ‘deep’ and independent problem solving, and the level of potential ‘surface’. Marton and Saljo (1976) explored the development as determined through problem solving processes and strategies of learning used by students under adult guidance or in collaboration with a more as well as the outcomes of that learning, in terms of capable peer’ Vygotsky (1978). what is understood and remembered. They found two For Vygotsky, ‘learning awakens a variety of different levels of processing which they called deep- internal developmental processes that are able to level and surface-level processing. ‘In the case of SELF- AND PEER-ASSESSMENTPAUL ORSMOND

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